Alumni Programme
Once you've finished your course, we appreciate that you'll need some help and along the way to turn your qualification into a successful career. Our Alumni programme offers a range of resources, support, job opportunities & discounts.
Membership of the programme is free forever and automatic from the day you qualify.
Support - Advice Service
We'll teach you about a range of conditions which you'll encounter on a regular basis, but there will be lots more you've never even heard of. Our experienced tutors are on hand to offer you advice on tricky clients or conditions, CPD opportunities, marketing, accounting and even your tax return.
Resources - Everything you need
We pride ourselves in giving you all the tools required for the job. On graduation, you are given access to templates for client record cards, risk assessments, policies, simple accounting, marketing materials and more.
Job Opportunities - Earning potential and world class experience
Our graduates are in demand from employers, sports clubs & teams, event organisers and more. We arrange paid work with our partners exclusively for our graduates. We've done everything from 5k races to international strongman competitions, allowing our graduates to put their skills to use whilst earning or getting to handle elite athletes.
Discounts - Increasing your bottom line
We work hard to ensure running your business is as profitable as possible:
- 10% discount on any further courses with the sports massage academy, such as the Level 4 Certificate in Sports Massage Therapy.
- Discounts on essential equipment and supplies, such as massage tables and kinesiology tape.
- Discounted insurance with our partners Balens.
Graduate of the Month
Don Howden - June 2019
Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy
Background:
I started my working life as a military medic and nurse, specialised in Accident & Emergency and worked for 8 years in the NHS. I then joined the Metropolitan Police Service where I served for 17 years in a variety of roles before being headhunted for a teaching job in further education. Throughout this time, I had always been involved in playing, coaching and providing first aid cover for my local rugby union team, Sutton & Epsom RFC. In June last year the opportunity arose for me to take up a part-time teaching post that meant I could start my own business and finally be my own boss!
How have you used your new qualification?
I had already qualified in kinesiology taping and was now 'Team Medic' for Metropolitan Police RFC. Completing a Sports Massage Therapy qualification seemed like a natural progression. I had looked at a number of courses and providers but when I spoke to Alex I was impressed by the 'can do' ethos of The Sports Massage Academy, structure of the course and value for money it represented. I wanted to get a credible qualification that would be supported by my insurers and managed to enrol on the next available level 3 course. The course was hard work but fascinating and the mix of theory and practical work really suited my style of learning. Under the expert care of Luke & Dani I completed and passed my course. At this point I had expected that SMT would be a useful adjunct to my business and that first aid training would be my main source of earnings; I could not have been more wrong!
Viking Medical Ltd goes from strength to strength & I now find myself looking at reducing my teaching hours further, with a stable corporate client base and a private client base that continues to grow. Looking to the future I plan to invest in more training with Sports Massage Academy, start looking at business premises and the potential for employing or going into partnership with other therapists and personal trainers.
What did you think of the Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy course you attended?
I would highly recommend Sports Massage Academy and as mentioned, the mix of theory and practice during the course really suited my style of learning. Both Luke & Dani ensured a fun and professional learning environment and encouraged an investigative and problem-solving approach to SMT that I for one have applied in my practice. Indeed, I think it's this approach that has helped ensure my clients are satisfied with the service I provide and keep coming back. At the same time, many of the business tips provided were invaluable to me as someone starting up for the first time. Since completing the course I have kept a listening watch on the alumni Facebook page, picking up more hints and tips to help drive my business forward and learning from the experience of others. Next stop will be the SMA conference in Nottingham where I am looking forward to catching up with Alex, Dani and Luke as well as extending my network and knowledge further!
More about the Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy
What would you say to anyone looking to train in Sports Massage Therapy?
In terms of top tips for anyone joining the industry I have to say that I still feel like a bit of an imposter and in all honesty I have to pinch myself sometimes when I consider how Viking Medical Ltd has grown over the last year. So, I would like to repeat some advice that I read from Alex on the alumni Facebook page in the run up to Christmas when I was having a few doubts. There had been a question about Groupon type vouchers and offering discounts etc. I started to consider this as a method of generating business but was put off from doing this by Alex's reference to providing a quality service in order to generate quality clients over the long term rather than a discounted service with a high client turnover. The wisdom in Alex's advice was entirely borne out by my own experience and it was provision of a quality service that led to a word-of-mouth recommendation/referral and ultimately my first major corporate client. While I understand that chasing numbers of clients with discounted rates is tempting, I absolutely believe that If you provide a realistic price for a quality service consistently, then the clients you generate will be the clients you keep!
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